presidential history

George Washington And His Contradictions

Beth Lipoff and Steve Kraske — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:39:18 +0000

George Washington was all about freedom, so why did he own slaves?

Studying The Founding Fathers

Beth Lipoff and Steve Kraske — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

When it comes to the first presidents, everyone knows George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but what about John Adams?

Ranking The Presidents

Beth Lipoff and Steve Kraske — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Quickly-- rank the presidents. Did you put Washington or Lincoln first? Where did you put Millard Fillmore?

KC History: Eisenhower

Matthew Long-Middleton — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In his life Eisenhower lead the allied forces to victory in Europe, built the interstate system, and oversaw school integration, but what experiences built this man of action from Kansas?

Thomas Jefferson: Freedom Fighter Or Flip-Flopper?

Steve Kraske and Beth Lipoff — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:15:18 +0000

Equality and liberty were Thomas Jefferson’s great dreams—except when it came to slaves.

On Thursday's Up to Date, we’ll discuss the man and his contradictions with historian Henry Wiencek, author of Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves, which examines Jefferson’s changing stance toward slavery.

George The First: A Presidential Study In Contrasts

Steve Kraske and Danie Alexander and Greta Wendelin — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 23:00:00 +0000

As a one-term president, George H. W. Bush stands as an anomaly.

James Madison: Modern Debates

Stephen Steigman and Steve Kraske — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 02:13:22 +0000

Just a quick glance at the front page, and it’s easy to tell what issues are heating up Washington these days: the separation of church and state, states' rights, and the limits of presidential power.

Some things, as they say, just don’t change.

Ellen & Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies

Stephen Steigman and Steve Kraske — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:09:37 +0000

Flamboyant, confident, and controversial, Edith Bolling Wilson was not your traditional First Lady. After her husband, Woodrow Wilson, suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919, she took the reins of government and acted on behalf of her ailing spouse.

Presidential Policies and Black Entrepreneurship

Charlie Upchurch, Andrea Silenzi and Jabulani Leffall — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:06:57 +0000

An American president once said that black power is the power that people should have over their own destinies, the power that comes from participation in the political and economic process of society. That president? Richard Nixon.

Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin

Stephen Steigman and Steve Kraske — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:28:55 +0000

President Obama's State of the Union speech was "animated by the president’s faith in government’s ability to restore the American promise of fairness" says Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. "In the last decades, however," Goodwin says, "the public has become increasingly disillusioned about the role of government."